The Carrier
Lifeform XP-001, also known as the "Carrier", was an unidentified alien lifeform that invaded and resided in Research Station Sol-66 from 2106 to 2110. The lifeform caused extreme amounts of damage to the station, and it, as well as the pathogen it carried, caused the death of all personnel aboard. It continued to live and thrive through unknown means until 2110, where it was killed aboard the crippled FNV Hyperion during the "internal purging" protocol that Richard Walker initiated. Invasion of Sol-66 The origin of the lifeform is unknown. It was reportedly aboard a large meteorite that impacted the station, which caused extreme damage, and allowed the Carrier to board the station and attack it's staff. Numerous lockdowns were initiated, but all of them were compromised. The Carrier infected most of the staff aboard the station, turning them into highly aggressive beings with lowered brain function, which earned them the term "necrotics". After a failed attempted by the Navy's FOX unit to secure the research and destroy the lifeform, the station was locked down and a quarantine was placed, prohibiting access to the immediate sector, and establishing a new Marine Corps unit to provide security. NANHI Crisis In 2110, a NANHI shuttle managed to breach the sector and boarded the station, hoping to investigate and steal valued Federation research. During the breach, the NANHI troops accidentally broke the quarantine, and were soon overwhelmed by the creatures inside. Unknowing of the breach, the TF141 marines attempted to engage NANHI, but were infected themselves. It was not long after that a civilian vessel, operated by bounty hunter Alyxz Marenwolf, entered the restricted area and malfunctioned, causing it to drift through the sector, which alerted the Hyperion, who was returning from Mobius. The Hyperion boarded and brought Alyxz aboard, originally detaining her for her alleged crimes, before moving to investigate the lack of TF141 presence. Seetan and Walker, both serving aboard the Hyperion, entered the station again, and engaged the lifeform. During the engagement, they were briefly incapacitated by the reanimated crew, before being aided by Marenwolf. They successfully retrieved Ilia from her cryogenic chamber, and left the station. Albus Geralds arrived himself shortly after and demanded that Ilia be released to him, intending on exploiting her abilities to aid NANHI, but was denied by Seetan, who was under orders to return her to Federation Command as she seemed to have undergone cruel research. Geralds staged a mutiny, disabling the Hyperion's navigation and communication arrays, and fled, requesting that the Sisko respond to destroy the compromised Hyperion. The Sisko began to engage the Hyperion, and as a result, the Hyperion collided with Sol-6, which allowed the lifeform to board the ship and begin infecting her crew. Walker, having been injured during the assault, sacrificed himself by detonating a number of sections of the ship, flooding them internal areas with nitrogen gas, including the bridge, during the Sisko's final barrage, the gas was ignited, destroying all pathogens and lifeforms inside the ship, and leaving it structurally intact, to simulate the destruction of the Hyperion, as well as allowing Seetan and his crew to escape with Ilia. Sol-6 was destroyed in the blast, and the alien lifeform was seemingly vaporized during the explosion. After the Hyperion's repairs and reactivation, the station's remains were towed to the Kuiper Belt and a restriction was reestablished, and is currently underway for demolition. The Federation is currently making arrangements to have the station sent to deep space to collide with the nearest solar body to fully eradicate it and any trace of the alien's infection. The Pathogen The pathogen carried by the lifeform was hard to identify, as very little research was conducted on it. Only a few samples of it remain, found on the suits of fallen personnel drifting through space. The pathogen was able to remain active even when exposed to the conditions of open space. The pathogen was found in all bodily fluids of the Carrier, such as blood, saliva, and a venom-like substance that coated it's claws and attachments. Infection rates were 100%, as all individuals that came into direct contact with it succumbed to the pathogen. The time at which symptoms would turn fatal had little variations, which depended on the individuals immune system. However, individuals